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The Supreme Court held that a person cannot be prosecuted for abetment of suicide merely because they, as a live-in partner, ended the relationship or refused to marry and it was followed by the other partners death by suicide.
A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran observed while quashing proceedings against six accused, including the deceased womans partner, his parents, sister and others, in a case that occured in Telangana. The apex court said there was no material to show that the accused had intended to drive the woman to suicide or had knowledge that their refusal to marry would lead her to take her own life. People react differently to situations, and if a breakup ends up with suicide, it cannot always be termed an abetment to suicide, the bench observed. The prosecution argued that the woman and the first accused, who were childhood friends, had been in a consensual relationship and lived together for about three months. Although marriage was initially proposed, the accused later refused to marry her, allegedly after pressure from his family and others. The woman subsequently told her sister that she would end her life if the marriage did not take place the next day. Following an altercation at the accuseds residence, she allegedly locked herself in a room and died by suicide. While the trial court and Telangana High Court had declined to terminate the proceedings, the Supreme Court found that the allegations, even if accepted in full, did not disclose any act of instigation. At worst, even if we fully believe what has been stated by the first informant, there was a refusal of marriage, which led to the woman committing suicide, the apex court said, holding that the allegations did not constitute abetment under Section 306 IPC. The criminal proceedings against all six accused were accordingly quashed. (ANI)
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